Are there any actuaries out there in DU?

[MalachiConstant]

I have my B.S. in Physics, so I have a pretty strong math background. I've been doing a little bit of research and it seems that actuaries are a pretty desirable position. I like the whole problem solving, number crunching bit, so I've signed up to take my first exam (the Financial Mathematics exam) in May.

So, please, enlighten me. Is it worth it?

{this message has been cross-posted to the career-help and advice group}

[patdem]

1. I was an actuarial researcher at an insurance company in RI when I

lived there. That was pre computer and we did our 5 year long range forcasts on spreadsheets by hand. The only place I know who hires actuaries is insurance companies. They are usually second only to the president of the insurance company. I moved back to my home town and there were NO home office insurance companies in the area only agencies..so I had to get out of doing what I loved and became a bookkeeper...much more boring but easy to get a job.

I am not sure how demanding the job is now with computers? I know the tests are pretty intimidating.

Good luck to you whatever future you choose! Math/Science is certainly the way to go.

[senseandsensibility]

2. This older woman was sitting next to me at a restaurant a few

weeks ago. Apparently, she was taking her young nephew to lunch. He looked about eighteen. She kept lecturing him about how great a career it was to be an actuary. The nephew either had a very quiet voice or wasn't responding. She went on and on about how great the job was, including the working conditions and pay. The whole restaurant could hear her. It was kind of funny because I had never given one second's thought to that job before this incident. Sorry, I know I didn't really answer your question, but if this lady's opinion means anything, being an actuary is THE job of all time!

[Squeech]

3. What they said

It's not a bad gig, but the insurance industry is pretty much it for career opportunities. If you don't live where they are (Omaha, Hartford, where else?), you're SOL. (I work in insurance, but in IT, so I'm somewhat more portable-- and I don't have to care what the data really means.)

Have you considered taking some statistics? Same varieties of mathematical tools, but much wider applicability-- economics, social sciences, biology and related fields (epidemiology should be a growth industry when bird flu hits), or you can work for Zogby :-)

[papau]

4. I answered your original post. Good luck.

:-)

[MalachiConstant]

5. thanks for the input!

i was hoping for some reassurance. this sounds reassuring enough.